Bollywood Actresses: Change of Scene!

By HT

Mumbai, Feb. 5 -- As a number of top actresses team up with directors who are known for making offbeat films, it seems the divide between commercial and parallel cinema is shrinking.

While Kareena Kapoor Khan gears up to play a schizophrenic character in Raj Kumar Gupta's next, Alia Bhatt is teaming up with Abhishek Chaubey for Udta Punjab. Anushka Sharma has Navdeep Singh's NH10 as well as Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet, while Deepika stars in Shoojit Sircar's Piku. We believe Kangana Ranaut, too, is preparing to play mountaineer Bachendri Pal in Hansal Mehta's biopic.

"I'm ready to take risks, experiment and read a script that makes me wonder, 'How am I going to do this part?'" says Deepika, who plays a Bengali character in Shoojit's film. The film-maker adds, "It's not just actors, but even us directors who want to work with mainstream stars. We want to reach out to maximum people too, so it's a two-way process."

While some directors are still termed 'offbeat', experts feel that the "lines are blurring fast". "So-called 'different' film-makers may not be making blockbusters, but their films are also finding success. Plus, all actors - sooner or later in their careers - want to experiment with roles," says trade analyst Komal Nahta.

One such actor is Anushka, who says she considers shooting for Anurag's film a turning point in her career. "As an actor, I've started to see myself differently. I want to do films that will push me as an artiste," she told HT Cafe in an earlier interview.

Ask Shoojit if working with a 'star' is different from working with lesser known names that are often associated with offbeat films and he says, "The amount of effort they put in is the same. But, a star needs the right atmosphere. For performance-oriented roles, a high level of concentration is needed, so you have to ensure that they aren't disturbed by fans or anything else."